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EasyCLA FAQs: Signing, CCLA vs ICLA, Checks, and Contribution Workflows

A practical guide to EasyCLA: understand ICLA versus CCLA, project-specific coverage, company authorization, failed checks, status delays, and GitHub or Gerrit contribution steps.
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EasyCLA is the Linux Foundation’s hosted service for managing contributor license agreements (CLAs). It automates signing and authorization checks for projects that choose to require a CLA before accepting contributions. Whether you sign an Individual CLA (ICLA), use your employer’s Corporate CLA (CCLA), or need to fix a failed check depends on who owns the contribution and whether your company has authorized you.

What is EasyCLA?

LFX EasyCLA is a Linux Foundation service that automates CLA workflows for participating open-source projects. It provides separate consoles for project setup, contributor signing and checks, and corporate authorization management.

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A project decides whether to require a CLA. EasyCLA is not required for every Linux Foundation project or for every open-source contribution; some communities use alternatives such as a Developer Certificate of Origin sign-off. Projects that do require a CLA use it to align contributions with their intellectual-property policies.

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ICLA vs CCLA: which agreement applies?

Question ICLA CCLA
Who contributes? A person contributing on their own behalf. A person contributing on behalf of an employer or another organization.
Who signs? The individual contributor. An authorized corporate signatory signs for the company.
Who owns or controls the contribution rights? The individual, subject to the project’s CLA terms. The company or other represented organization, subject to the CLA terms.
Is company authorization required? No employer authorization is needed when you are contributing personally. Yes. You must be authorized to act for the company, and the company must approve you as a contributor.
Who maintains the approved contributor list? Not applicable. The company’s CLA manager maintains the list for the project.
What is the scope? Project-specific. Project-specific.

When to sign an ICLA

Use an ICLA when you own the rights to the work and are contributing personally rather than as part of your job or on behalf of another entity. If the work belongs to your employer, an ICLA may not be the correct authorization even if you personally wrote the code.

When a CCLA is required

A CCLA applies when contributions are made for a company. The corporate signer must have authority to enter agreements for that company. The company’s CLA manager must then add the people authorized to contribute to the project. Signing the corporate agreement alone does not automatically authorize every employee.

Do I need to sign a CLA for every contribution?

No. A signed CLA generally covers your contributions to the project for which it was signed. A different project may have different terms and may require a separate CLA, even if both projects use EasyCLA. The agreement’s own text controls its scope, so read the project-specific CLA before contributing.

How to contribute when a project uses EasyCLA

Personal contribution through GitHub or Gerrit

  1. Submit the pull request or change through the project’s normal GitHub or Gerrit workflow.
  2. If the project requires a CLA and no authorization is found, follow the link or instructions presented by the failed check to open the Contributor Console.
  3. Choose the individual path and sign the project’s ICLA using your own details.
  4. Return to the contribution and rerun the check or push again as instructed by the project.

Contribution for an employer

  1. Confirm that the contribution is being made on behalf of your employer and that you are authorized to do so.
  2. In the Contributor Console, identify the company associated with the contribution.
  3. If the company already has a CCLA and you are on its approved contributor list, confirm the company association when submitting code.
  4. If the company is not listed or you are not approved, contact the company’s CLA manager or authorized signatory. They must complete the corporate authorization steps and add you to the approved list.
  5. Resubmit or rerun the repository check after authorization is complete.

Project managers configure the CLA template and connect repositories; contributors submit code and complete their authorization; CLA managers maintain approved corporate contributors; and CLA signatories execute corporate agreements.

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What to do when the EasyCLA check fails

A failed check normally means EasyCLA cannot match the contributor to a valid authorization for that project. Use the Contributor Console rather than signing an agreement casually: select an ICLA if you are acting personally, or follow the CCLA path if you are acting for an employer.

  • Contributing personally: sign the ICLA in the Contributor Console.
  • Contributing for a company: identify the company and have its CLA manager or signatory complete the required authorization.
  • Unsure who owns the code: pause and confirm the employer’s intellectual-property policy or obtain advice from the appropriate legal or compliance contact.

Why has my EasyCLA status not updated?

Individual contributors

Wait a few seconds and refresh the page. The status may not appear immediately after signing.

Gerrit contributors

If the command line still reports that no agreement is present, sign out of Gerrit, sign back in, and push again. This refreshes the account session used for the check.

Corporate contributors

Check that the company’s CCLA is signed, that the correct project is covered, and that your email or identity is on the company’s approved contributor list. If any of those conditions is missing, the company’s CLA manager must correct it.

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How do I retrieve a signed ICLA?

EasyCLA emails the signed ICLA to the address supplied during signing. If you cannot find it, check the address used for the signing flow and your spam or quarantine folders. The Linux Foundation FAQ says to open a support ticket and request a resend when the agreement is still missing.

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What does the EasyCLA service agreement cover?

The Linux Foundation’s service terms govern use of the EasyCLA service itself. They expressly state that the service agreement does not constitute a Contributor License Agreement. The service terms also do not provide legal advice. You may act for an employer or another third party only when you are authorized to do so.

The CLA that governs your contribution is the project’s underlying agreement, not the EasyCLA service terms. Review that CLA and your employer’s policies when ownership, authority, patents, or other rights are unclear.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Signing an ICLA for work that your employer owns without confirming you are allowed to contribute personally.
  • Assuming a company CCLA covers every employee without being added to the approved contributor list.
  • Assuming a CLA signed for one project automatically applies to another project.
  • Retrying a Gerrit push repeatedly without refreshing the login session after signing.
  • Treating EasyCLA’s service terms as a substitute for reading the project’s actual CLA.

The Bottom Line

EasyCLA is the authorization checkpoint, not the CLA itself. Sign an ICLA for personal work; use your employer’s CCLA and approved-contributor list for company work; and remember that authorization is normally specific to each project.

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